Topics

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one. Augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. Artificial information about the environment and its objects can be overlaid on the real world.

172 Recent Stories

2012 promises to be a very busy year in all things digital, but, as with any annum, there will be just a handful of big, memorable trends. Here, I’ve collected five such movements that are likely to make a big impact in our technologically-enhanced l...

Advertising agency JWT London has used image-recognition app Blippar to create a unique and innovative new business card that lets people view their showreel and receive directions to their office. Blippar brings real-world images to life with augmen...

Guinness is venturing into augmented reality with its holiday game "Decorate Your Pint." By downloading the Blippar app, iOS and Android users will be able to take a picture of their pint of Guinness complete with Christmas decorations like a Santa h...

Looking to top its own introduction of the 2011 Explorer on Facebook, Ford is teasing its 2013 Fusion via mobile apps. Starting Wednesday, fans can download an iPhone and Android app that is activated by pointing the phone's camera at a Ford logo -- ...

Outerwear retailer Moosejaw released an augmented reality app last month that lets users "see through" the clothing in its winter catalog, showing male and female models in their underwear (see above). Some of you called it "sleazy." Others called it...

The New York Times's R&D Lab has developed a digitally enhanced mirror that allows you to interact with personalized data during your morning routine. Unfortunately, the mirror won't be making its way into your local Restoration Hardware any time soo...

British retailer Tesco is launching an ambitious augmented reality program on Thursday that will let consumers see 3D images of more than 40 products online. As outlined in the video above, the technology requires a browser plugin. After that, consum...

Since the dawn of the X-ray, teenage boys have dreamed of glasses that would see through clothing. Now, they have an app: MoosejawXRAY Outerwear retailer Moosejaw has released an augmented reality app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices that lets us...

Starbucks is launching its first major augmented reality app this holiday season that will let customers animate their coffee cups with their smartphones. Starbucks Cup Magic launches for iPhone and Android devices in the U.S. next Tuesday. (In Canad...

Duke Greenhill is the founder and CEO of Greenhill+Partners, a premiere New York-based creative marketing agency specializing in luxury brands and engaging the emerging affluent. You can reach them at TheFutureOfBranding.com. Luxury brand marketing m...

Amazon has released its own twist on Google Goggles -- an augmented reality iPhone app that recognizes objects your phone sees and then gives you the option to buy them. The Flow Powered by Amazon app, developed by Amazon unit A9, claims to recognize...

No, the woman in this video is not hallucinating. Thanks to augmented reality technology, a tiny version of Rihanna actually seems to emerge from the cap of a jar of Nivea Creme to sing her song "California King Bed." The app, which went live this we...

The majority of the 9/11 remembrance exhibit in the New York Times' lobby appropriately focuses on the tragedy of 10 years ago, but one digital gallery looks forward rather than back at the site of the World Trade Center. Three iPads loaded with an a...

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. Name: Ball Invasion Quick Pitch: Ball Invasio...

Boulder-based computer vision startup Occipital has raised $7 million in Series A funding, and aims to leverage the investment to develop a next-generation computer vision platform. Occipital, a TechStars veteran, is most widely known for the hit bar...

"The Twin Towers were giant," says Brian August. "Having them gone is like walking into your bedroom when someone completely rearranged it." August has long been thinking about the loss that he and other longtime New Yorkers feel, whether they notice...

Dan Schawbel is the author of Me 2.0 and the founder of Millennial Branding, a full-service personal branding agency. He’s spoken about personal branding at Google, Harvard, Time Warner, IBM, and CitiGroup. Read his Personal Branding Blog for more in...

Sam Travis Ewen is the CEO and founder of Interference Incorporated, a non-traditional marketing agency, and is co-founder of Supertou.ch an immersive technology company focused on bringing human computer interaction (HCI) to real-world environments....

John C. Havens is the founder of The H(app)athon Project and author of the upcoming book H(app)y -- The Value of Well Being in a Digital Economy (Tarcher/Penguin, 2014). He can be reached @johnchavens. Look up in Times Square and you’ll see the earli...

In the competitive world of business it can be hard to stand out. A creative business card can help differentiate you from others and one way in which we're seeing people attempt this is through augmented reality. Augmented reality cards can provide ...

A promotion for the upcoming movie Green Lantern uses a Kinect-like augmented reality motion-capture video game to promote an unlikely partner: the "got milk?" campaign. The app, which went live on Tuesday at lanternworthy.com, asks teens to use the ...

International fashion retailer Topshop set up a virtual fitting room in its flagship Moscow store last week, an experimental move for the retailer. The fitting room, which was built by Russian agency AR Door, uses Microsoft Kinect and augmented reali...

The LG Optimus 3D, LG's flagship smartphone hitting stores this summer, will come packed with the world's first augmented reality browser. LG has partnered up with Wikitude to create the Wikitude 3D Browser, which was possible because of LG Optimus's...

Valpak, known for its coupon-stuffed blue envelopes, has updated itself for the mobile age with an augmented reality app. The new feature, available from junaio , identifies local deals when a consumer points his or her camera phone in the direction ...

Years ago, the best prize kids could hope for in their cereal box was a plastic toy, but an international promotion from Nestle for the film Rio, which uses augmented reality, opens up some new possibilities. The food giant is stocking more than 26 m...

Angels fell to earth, in augmented reality at least, in a recent campaign for Lynx in London. On March 5, the Unilever-owned brand (known as Axe in the U.S.), put signs in the Victoria railway station telling travelers to look up to a giant video scr...

Pablo Picasso once said, "Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." True, but they can also help sell an exhibit. Case in point: The Martin Agency in Richmond, Virginia, put a small budget toward a campaign promoting the Virginia Museum...

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here. Name: GoldRun Quick Pitch: Using augmented re...

We've seen a number of translation tools for iOS devices, but Word Lens strikes us as the most innovative and coolest of them all. The app lets you translate written phrases simply by pointing your iPhone's camera at them. The app's optical character...

Struggling to decide between going to church this holiday season or checking out a new flick (say, Tron) in 3D? Well, now you can merge the two experiences, because a church in Florida is hosting 20 3D services this year. The Church by the Glades in ...

Part hovercraft and part flying video game, Parrot's new AR Drone is an aircraft that is controlled over Wi-Fi with an iOS app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. By placing your left and right thumbs on two touchscreen buttons, you can make the Drone a...

Reports are popping up that Apple has purchased the Swedish company Polar Rose, which specializes in face recognition technology and software. It's too soon to say what Apple will use Polar Rose's tech for, but mobile face recognition applications ar...

Geoff Livingston co-founded Zoetica to focus on cause-related work, and released an award-winning book on new media Now is Gone in 2007. Augmented reality promises a new level of interaction between people and data. Now, even the newest for-profit ap...

The Next Big Thing

Mashable
is a leading global media company that informs, inspires and entertains the digital generation. Mashable is redefining storytelling by documenting and shaping the digital revolution in a new voice, new formats and cutting-edge technologies to a uniquely dedicated audience of 42 million monthly unique visitors and 24 million social followers.